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sarah e webb

@sewmanystories

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rochester, ny • monhegan, me
teaching artist•narrative medicine practitioner•stitching stories•breath to pen
💌newsletter + more⬇️

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I’m back—back in Rochester, that is.

After almost four months away, it’s time to settle into my life in the 585 and whatever it may bring. Time to fully unpack both my luggage and the baggage I carry. Time to settle into what it means to be here.

A week ago, I said farewell to a group of seven women who gathered to support one another’s creativity. It was the second of two programs I facilitated this fall on Monhegan—first a retreat and then a residency—one intentionally following the other, allowing those who desired to stay and participate in both.

Self-promotion is not my jam, but after six years, I know I have established a retreat program that is pretty special, affirmed by the number of women who come back year after year. For quite some time, it had been a dream to offer an extension to the program, something I had no better way to describe than as a residency program, a space to allow the magic and momentum that began on retreat to linger for a few more days, or as a stand-alone commitment to one’s practice, to nurture a project, in whatever shape that might be. This year my dream became a reality.

Over eight days, I observed two groups of women who began timidly as strangers bonding and becoming sisters through their stories, in laughter, in tears, in ways that continue to reverberate through words and images shared in group chats. I love nothing more than to see the traces of their time and how Monhegan continues to find its way into their hearts and homes.

During the residency, I began to reflect on how far I’ve come, because if I’m honest, there was a time when I never could’ve done this work, even if my ego might have told me otherwise. Especially if my ego told me otherwise.

super vulnerable newsletter this morning, but sometimes you need (I need) to do it scared.

you can read the rest on substack ~ the link is in my bio ⬆️ or sign up for my newsletter and get all the goodness in your 📧 taken in Monhegan, Maine by @sewmanystories

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17 days ago

As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.
•
Winnie-the-Pooh

thirty years of grand adventures and then some ~ Happy Birthday to Evan 🎂♥️🎂 by @sewmanystories

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2 months ago

John and I are in the last throes of a month on Monhegan, and I’m finding it hard to believe it’s almost over.

How is it already August?

Four weeks is the longest stretch we’ve ever spent together here, and frankly, I think we’ve both done quite well! John, without a single television, and I, surrounded by his sneakers and supplements, have resisted my urge to alphabetize, although I did insist he decant his Quest Protein Powder into a glass jar.

Really, I’m trying.

But truthfully? I wouldn’t change a single moment, and even more importantly, now he understands why a week on Monhegan is never enough.

For some, summertime means the livin’ is easy, but August in Maine operates on a fever pitch all its own.

Let’s just say, if you know, you know.

if you didn’t receive it in your 📥
head to the link in BIO to read a little more about these days and sign up to subscribe ⬆️ taken in Monhegan, Maine by @sewmanystories

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2 months ago

Since 2021, I have facilitated intimate writing and meditation retreats for women on Monhegan.
This September we will write under the influence of Terry Tempest Williams' poetic memoir, When Women Were Birds, and contemplate the ways we find our voice through silence and speech.

I've had an unexpected cancellation for a single room become available. Whether you're looking for an excuse to visit for the first time, or a reason to come back ~ this is your opportunity 🌊

all the details at the link in bio or send me a DM taken in Monhegan, Maine by @sewmanystories

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2 months ago

Three weeks on the other side of my time in India and two weeks back on Monhegan, with a bleary-eyed eight days in Rochester between. It’s felt like I’ve been traveling back and forth through time.

I’ve been writing versions of this newsletter, on paper and in my mind for weeks now, in search of what to share about the pilgrimage, how to answer the recurring question:

How was India? What was it like??

Before I left, I was sure I would share my noticings on Notes, but ultimately I didn’t post at all, for although I’m by no means an Influencer, it felt important to be only under the influence of myself.

oh India… . .. my sweet impossible blossom 🪷

you can read the rest on substack ~ the link is in my bio ⬆️ or sign up for my newsletter and get all the goodness in your 📧 by @sewmanystories

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3 months ago

the world is blue at its edges and in its depths... . ..

Rebecca Solnit
•
A Field Guide to Getting Lost taken in Monhegan Island by @sewmanystories

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4 months ago

M is for Monday
•
M is for a morning light
& a new mug for coffee
•
M is for mares’ tails &
meditative moments
by the sea 🌊
•
M is for musings
& mischief
to gather (in grace)
each week

& meet the new
MARC resident
along the way
•
M is for Monhegan
•
M is for magic taken in Monhegan Island by @sewmanystories

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4 months ago

A Cottony Fate

Long ago, someone
told me: avoid or.

It troubles the mind
as a held-out piece of meat disturbs a dog.

Now I too am sixty
There was no other life.

Jane Hirshield

Reflecting back on the many moments of May and this "no other life" I have made for myself.

Leaning into the next chapter, whatever that may be.

I wrote a little more in my newsletter about the lessons I've learned along the way. If you didn't receive it in your 📧 link in bio ⬆️ by @sewmanystories

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5 months ago

This past week, my sweetheart and I took a little trip down to Belmont to see the Boss. It was my third show and his 102nd, but really, who’s counting?

The evening was all things joyous—a reminder of the many ways art and music bolster the spirit and soul. I mean, it was the Boss, and even at seventy-six, yes, I said seventy-six, this man delivers.

Even during the best of times, I’ve never been much of a flag-waving patriot, but over the course of the night, I found myself in tears more than once as I contemplated what it means to be a US citizen, especially now.

Before he began “My City of Ruins,” Bruce sat on the stage and spoke from his heart about the legacy of the current administration and the scar it would leave on the world for generations to come. But he also implored the audience to remember that honesty, honor, humility, character, truth, compassion, humanity, thoughtfulness, morality, true strength, and decency matter, and to never let anyone tell you otherwise, because they do.

I’m thinking about these qualities all the more on this Mother's Day, because isn’t that what we try to teach our children?Springsteen acknowledged the messiness and imperfectness of our country’s history—so too, parenting.

Or at least mine.

to read the rest, head to the link in BIO or sign up to subscribe ⬆️ by @sewmanystories

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5 months ago

The Way It Is

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

–William Stafford

new newsletter • new noticings

fifteen years of recovery • one day at a time

if you didn’t receive it in your 📥
head to the link in BIO to read or better yet, why not sign up to subscribe ⬆️

unsplash image ~ Patrycja Chociej by @sewmanystories

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9 months ago

set your intention: from mat to page ✨✨

for the 4th year, i invite you me and begin 2026 in a meaningful practice of restorative yoga, guided meditation, and reflective writing @truyogaroc

together, we will close out the year and welcome all that is to come ~ gathering in community to discover and delight in setting heartfelt intentions from mat to page… . ..

January 3 | 3-5 pm

dress to be cozy | bring your favorite 🖊️
journals provided

the perfect 🎁 for you or someone you ♥️

sign up to save your spot | link in BIO taken in South Wedge by @sewmanystories

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10 months ago

the mutuality of moss and water. isn't this the way we love, the way love propels our own unfolding? we are shaped by our affinity for love, expanded by its presence and shrunken by its lack.

robin wall kimmerer
gathering moss taken in Monhegan, Maine by @sewmanystories

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a year ago